OIC’s statement on Islamophobia in India was ‘factually incorrect’: Govt sources

The OIC had urged India to stop ‘the growing tide of Islamophobia’ in the country

[File] Men wearing protective masks wait for a bus that will take them to a quarantine facility in Nizamuddin, Delhi | Reuters [File] Men wearing protective masks wait for a bus that will take them to a quarantine facility in Nizamuddin, Delhi | Reuters

Indian government sources expressed deep regret over the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) remarks on Islamophobia in India and said the OIC should not communalise the fight against the pandemic. The sources said that the OIC's comments were “factually incorrect”.

The OIC had earlier issued a statement asking India to protect the rights of Muslim minorities in the country. The statement added that it condemned the “recent and alarming violence against Muslims in India, resulting in the death and injury of innocent people and the arson and vandalism of mosques and Muslim-owned properties.”

The MEA on Thursday focussed on the international co-operation it had participated in since the pandemic began. According to an official release, it has “gifted” medicines and medical supplies worth $5 million to neighbouring countries and developmental partners. These gifts include five million tablets of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), 1.32 million tablets of paracetamol (PCM) as well as antibiotics and other drugs, medical consumables and equipment for hospitals and laboratories. In addition, India has also commercially supplied 285 million HCQ tablets to 40 countries and 500 million paracetamol tablets to 60 countries.

Meanwhile, India has already received two dozen flights from China carrying 400 tonnes of medical supplies including test kits and PPE kits. Around 20 more flights are expected in the coming days.

India has also ramped production of rapid antibody testing kits in Manesar, where a South Korean company has its subsidiary. The plant has the capacity to produce five lakh kits a week with the first batch of kits rolled out on April 19. This is an example of ‘Make in India’ for the world, say government sources.

India has also acquired six SUV-sized high-speed testing machines from the US.

The leadership in these countries has been appreciative of our efforts in ensuring supply of these medicines, said the MEA.

India has also responded promptly to requests for deployment of Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) comprising doctors, nurses and paramedics. These RRTs are ready for deployment at short notice and have so far been deployed in the Maldives and Kuwait at the request of their governments. The RRTs helped train local medical professionals and also exchanged best practices with them on various aspects of dealing with the pandemic.

The MEA said that their COVID-19 control room had been manned 24x7 since March 16, 2020 and received more than 3,000 calls and 25,000 emails until morning of 23 April 2020.